Payback
by cwgirlup
Summary: Ghost Adventures slash. Nick/Zak. Zak is attacked. Nick gets revenge.


Title: Payback

Pairing: Nick/Zak

Rating: T

Summary: Zak is attacked. Nick gets revenge.

Disclaimer: Don't own – please don't sue. Blah, blah, blah.

Author's notes: We all know Nick G is a BAMF. I mean, the guy knows people with mob connections. I started wondering what other connections he might have, and that led to this story. Happy reading and please review :)

Nick sat by the hospital bed, watching the steady rise and fall of Zak's chest as he slept. The older man had been found by the police the night before in an alley a short distance from their apartment. From the extent of his injuries, the police said that he had most likely been the victim of a violent mugging. All of his jewelery had been taken, along with his watch and wallet. Zak suffered four broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, a fractured lower leg, and a severe concussion, in addition to multiple cuts and bruises. His face was badly swollen and two of his teeth had been cracked. Zak had a cast on his leg, bandages around his abdomen, and an IV delivering antibiotics in his arm.

Nick held the motionless hand, running his thumb over the scraped and bruised knuckles. Whatever had happened, Zak had fought back. Nick felt the familiar anger rising in his chest again as he thought about what Zak had gone through. His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he stepped away from the bed to take the call.

"G."

"I got your text. What's up?"

He glanced at the bed. "My boyfriend was attacked last night. He was mugged and left in an alley. He's a pretty muscular guy and from the looks of things, he got in some good knocks of his own, so it had to be at least two people. I need you to do some digging and find out who it was."

"You got it, G. Want me to take care of them?"

"No, not yet. I just want names for now."

"No problem. Give me an hour. I'll call you when I know something."

Nick hung up the phone and sat back down, carefully taking Zak's hand in his. "Whoever did this is going to pay. I promise you that." He scooted his chair closer and leaned over to rest his upper body on the bed, not willing to move to the couch in case Zak woke up. Exhaustion overcame him, and he slid into sleep.

He awoke to the vibrations of his phone. He checked the time before answering and saw that he had been asleep for about 45 minutes.

"G."

"I got the names. It looks like it was three members of a low level gang. Their names are Mike Pool, Jack Connors, and Tom Madden. The head of the gang is a guy named Pete Williams."

"Does this Williams guy have a job?"

Nick heard paper rustling. "Yeah. It looks like he works the 3-11 shift as a dealer at the Hard Rock."

"Ok. Send me a picture of Williams, then grab a couple guys and take care of Pool, Connors, and Madden. Kick their asses – a couple broken ribs, maybe a cracked kneecap – you know what to do. Make sure they know what will happen if we see them around again. Williams is mine."

"Consider it done, G. Hope your friend gets better."

"Thanks, man."

Nick checked the time. He had roughly nine hours before he needed to head over to the Hard Rock and pay a little visit to Mr. Williams. Catching him after work would not only give him the element of surprise but would also provide him with the cover of darkness.

"Nick?"

He whipped his head around at the raspy whisper and rushed over to Zak's bed. "Hey, you. How are you feeling?"

"Like I was just run over by a fucking truck. What happened?"

"You were mugged last night. Do you remember anything about what happened?"

Zak closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pounding in his head long enough to bring the memories into focus. "I was walking. I woke up around 2 AM and couldn't get back to sleep, so I went for a walk. I remember I thought about leaving a note for you, but I was only going to be gone like 10 or 15 minutes." He stopped and rubbed his forehead. "I felt something hit me in the back of the head. I staggered but stayed on my feet, and when I turned around these guys jumped me. I tried to fight them off, but there were at least two or three of them. They got me on the ground and started kicking me. I remember someone kicking me in the face, and then I guess I blacked out. I don't remember anything else until right now."

The nausea in Nick's stomach grew as he listened to Zak describe the attack. "Zak, why didn't you wake me? I would have gone out with you."

"I know, but I figured at least one of us should be able to sleep. And I've gone out walking a million times and nothing had ever happened before." He sighed and looked at his hands. "Where are my rings?"

"Zak, they got all your rings, along with your watch and wallet."

"Even our ring?"

Nick's voice grew soft. "Yeah."

Zak looked at his empty right ring finger and felt a tightness in his chest. He and Nick had exchanged rings at their commitment ceremony the previous year, and his ring had never left his finger since then. It was a Celtic infinity band made of white gold with 'NG' engraved on the inside. Nick wore a matching ring with 'ZB' engraved.

Nick followed Zak's line of sight and said, "We'll get it back. I promise."

"Do the police know who it was?"

"No, they don't know yet." _But I do._

Zak groaned as the pain in his ribs caught up with him. "Can you call the nurse for me? This hurts like a bitch."

Nick pressed the call button for the nurse and explained that Zak was awake and needed pain medication. While they waited for the doctor to come look at him, Nick sent a quick text message to Aaron, asking him to come stay with Zak that evening. After a few moments, his phone buzzed with a return text.

_I'll be there bro. Where u goin?_

_To take care of a problem. Thanks._

The doctor showed up a short while later and examined Zak. "Well, considering everything you went through, you have recovered quite well so far. I'm still going to keep you here for a couple of days, just to be on the safe side."

Zak propped himself up on his elbows. No, I don't want..."

Nick cut him off. "Thank you. He'll stay as long as he needs to."

"You're welcome. I'll be back tomorrow to check on him."

The doctor was barely out of the room before Zak spoke up. "Damn it, Nick. I don't want to stay here. I'm fine. I want..."

His voice trailed off as Nick fixed him with a steely gaze. He pushed him back onto the bed as he spoke. "You. Are. Staying. Here. End of story. If I have to tie you to this bed, I will."

Zak smirked. "Promise?"

Nick leaned down and kissed him softly. "Pervert." He noticed Zak fighting back a yawn and said, "Why don't you take a nap?"

Zak nodded, his eyes drooping. "You'll stay with me, right?"

"I'll be right here. Just hush and sleep."

Nick settled himself on the couch and let his eyes drift closed. He awoke several hours later to the sight of Aaron sitting by the bed as Zak ate his dinner from a hospital tray. He walked over and sat in the chair on the other side. "Hey, Aaron. When did you get here?"

"About 30 minutes ago. Just in time to hear the princess here bitch about his dinner."

"You'd bitch too, Aaron. This shit tastes like donkey balls."

Nick removed the tray. "Zak, Aaron's going to stay with you awhile. I'm going to go home and shower, then run an errand. How about I bring you back something?"

"That sounds great."

"Ok, then. I should be back in a few hours." He kissed Zak and walked to the door, motioning for Aaron to join him in the hall.

"Where are you really going, Nick?"

Nick looked around to make sure no one was near. "I found out who's responsible for this. I'm going to take care of it."

"You sure, bro? Wouldn't it be better to turn it over to the cops?"

"No. If it was just stuff, fine. I'd let the cops do whatever. But the minute they laid a hand on Zak, all bets were off. This fucker's mine."

Aaron nodded. "I got it, bro. I'd do the same if it was someone I loved." He bumped fists with Nick. "Be careful, G."

"Thanks. Take care of him while I'm gone."

With a last look at Zak's room, Nick headed down the hallway and out of the hospital. When he arrived home, he took a quick shower and changed into black jeans and a white T-shirt. He pulled his black hoodie over the shirt and grabbed a short black cylinder, shoving it into his back pocket. He checked the time and headed over to the Hard Rock. He removed an object from the glove compartment of his car and positioned himself by the employee exit in the back and waited.

Half an hour later, the door opened and a man walked out. Nick checked the picture on his phone before shoving it into his pocket. "Hey, Pete!"

The man spun around. "Fuck, dude – you scared me! Do I know you?"

Nick walked up to him and shoved the point of a small knife into the man's ribs. "Not yet, but that's about to change. Let's take a little walk."

Nick steered the man into the small alleyway where he had parked. He let him go and pocketed the knife, staring at him. "We have a problem here, Pete. Three of your guys jumped my boyfriend last night and beat the shit out of him. I get really pissed when people touch what's mine. So what are we going to do about this?"

"Shit, man. I can't control what my boys do when I'm not around. Besides," Pete added with a sneer, "maybe if your faggy ass boyfriend would spend less time daydreaming about sucking your cock and more time paying attention to his surroundings, he wouldn't have gotten jumped."

Nick grabbed the other man by the coat and threw him against the brick wall, pinning him there. "Oh, that was not the right answer at all." He cracked Pete's head against the wall. "First off, you fucking watch your mouth when you're talking about Zak. Second, if you can't control your boys, then that makes you a fucking shitty leader. And third," he said, sliding a hand into Pete's jacket pocket, "I don't believe for a second that you don't know what I'm talking about." He pulled out Zak's wallet and waved it in the man's face before dropping him with a hard knee to the balls. "I don't think this belongs to you."

Nick kicked him hard in the ribs and the face, and the man lost consciousness. He placed a large strip of duct tape over his mouth and slapped his cheeks. "Wakey, wakey. I want you to see what's happening."

The man groaned under the tape and tried to sit up. Nick's foot on the back of his neck persuaded him back onto the pavement. "As I was saying, we have a problem. But fortunately, I thought of a solution. See, one of my favorite quotes is 'An eye for an eye.' That sounds fair, right?"

He pulled the small, black cylinder out of his pocket and flicked his wrist, revealing a two-foot collapsible baton. "Now, your boys just kicked Zak, but I really like these shoes, so I think this is a much better option. Let's get started, shall we?"

Nick looked down at the man, studying his prone form before pulling his arm back and landing a well-placed blow just below Pete's armpit. The man jerked and screamed under the tape as he felt his ribs break. He hit him two more times in quick succession, breaking more ribs, and Pete involuntarily released his bladder from pain and fear.

Nick sneered. "Seriously? A few broken ribs make you piss yourself? Might want to re-think that whole gang thing if you can't take a little pain." He brought the baton down hard on his left leg, shattering the bone. "I bet that stung a little." He walked around the form on the ground, trailing the baton over him as Pete flinched away. "What else should I do? Zak has a dislocated shoulder, but I think I can do better." A hard hit to the right shoulder resulted in a satisfying crunch and caused more tears to pour down Pete's swollen face. "That should just about do it. I have to get back to the hospital." He started to walk away and turned back, kneeling by Pete and pulling his head up by the hair. "By the way, when you go to the hospital, you might want to tell the cops that you don't know who jumped you. You have no idea what connections I have in this town. Understand?"

Pete nodded his head, and Nick dropped it back onto the pavement with a crack. He searched the rest of Pete's pockets and found Zak's rings, including his commitment ring. "Don't worry. Someone will find you in a few hours when they come to empty the dumpster. Remember what I said."

Nick collapsed the baton and tossed it into his car. He climbed in and drove to Zak's favorite BBQ place, getting two take-out orders and heading back for the hospital. He walked into Zak's room to find Aaron snoring on the couch while Zak watched TV.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

"Hungry as fuck. And Aaron's snoring is killing my head. What did you bring me?"

Nick rolled his eyes. Injured Zak was even bitchier than normal Zak. "I got us both BBQ and fries. Why don't you go ahead and dig in while I send Aaron home?"

Zak grabbed the bag and started stuffing fries into his mouth three at a time. "Dude, save some for me."

He walked over to Aaron and shook him awake. "Hey, man, I'm back. You can go ahead and go home now."

Nick followed Aaron out into the hallway. "Thanks for staying with him. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, bro. It's done?"

"Yeah, I took care of him."

"He still alive?"

"In a lot of pain, but alive. I think once he recovers he'll probably head for the hills."

"You can be fucking scary sometimes, G. Glad I'm on your good side."

Nick smiled. "Thanks for your help, Aaron. See you later."

He walked back into the room in time to see Zak swallowing the last of his sandwich. "Is there anything left?"

"I saved you a sandwich."

"You ate all the fries?"

"Hey, I've been injured. I need to re-gain my strength."

Nick smiled. "I've got something for you." He pulled out Zak's wallet and rings.

Zak's mouth dropped. "Where did you find them?"

"Let's just say I found them and leave it at that." He slid the rings back onto his fingers, saving their ring for last. He kissed his finger as he placed it back where it belonged. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

He yawned then and moved toward the couch, stopping when Zak called his name.

"Hey, Nick? Can you – would you lay with me tonight? I need to feel you with me."

"Ok, but we have to be careful. I don't want to hurt you anymore than you already are.

Zak carefully moved over and rolled onto his side, facing the center of the bed. Nick removed his hoodie and jeans, deciding to sleep in his T-shirt and boxers. He climbed into the bed facing Zak, taking care not to bump his ribs or leg. Zak rested his head on Nick's with a sigh, letting the familiar _thump-thump-thump _lure him to sleep. Nick kissed the dark hair and ran his hand down Zak's uninjured arm before following him into sleep.

THE END


End file.
